Friday, April 29, 2011

Even when your best-laid plans go awry, sometimes you can end up with the most brilliant night anyway.

We hadn't meant to eat dinner at Pizza e Birra. Our sights (and stomachs) had been set on Vini and we'd arrived early to secure a table. Too early, we soon discover, and we're directed across the road for a quick drink while they finish setting up.

We wander up Gladstone Lane and find ourselves in a tiny bar, the glass doors simply marked with Cantina and Enoteca in a large frosted font. There is little indication that we're actually at 121 BC, the latest venture by the owners of Vini and Berta wine bars.

The bar is long but narrow, taken up primarily by a wide tile-topped communal table tucked under with stools. The table is wide enough so that the people opposite can't quite reach your wine glass, but as the bar quickly fills, it soon feels like we're at one giant dinner party - maximum guests: 25.

Zucchini, ricotta $8

The blackboard menus change daily, and detail the available wines and dishes of the evening. All the wines here are Italian, with white wines listed on the left, reds on the right. There are twenty-one wines are available by the glass when we visit, and the 100ml serving size makes for casual sipping and room to explore. The wines are reasonably priced too, starting at $5.50 and topping out at $13. Most hover around the $6 to $8 mark.

We start with a couple of pre-dinner snacks. Arancini balls arrive on a rustic wooden paddle, spoonfuls of creamy risotto coated in a light but crunchy golden crust. There's also room for a plate of grilled zucchini strips, sweet and yielding against the dabs of fresh ricotta.

By the time we leave at 6.30pm, 121 BC is packed. Hopeful arrivals are resigned to camp out by the door. Of course when we arrive at Vini, we find the restaurant is full and there's now a 30-minute wait for a table. We're merry with wine by this point and head up Foveaux Street instead. The hill is steep but we know we need the headstart on the calories.

We started with stuffed green olives, deliciously salty in a shell of deep-fried breadcrumbs. The benefits of any hillwalking have already been negated.

Gnocchi beetroot $22

with garlic, chilli and broccoli finished with smoked provola

There are seven pasta dishes on the menu and we choose the gnocchi beetroot. It's a lot spicier than we expected, with a chilli afterburn that seems to detract from the sweetness of the beetroot. The gnocchi are a brilliant ruby in colour, and although soft, they feel a little soggy.

Choosing our pizza is much more difficult, with over twenty options listed. We're torn over the zuccafunghi with pumpkin and pine nuts and the with mushrooms and gorgonzola, but eventually settle on the Pizza Sicilia that includes fried eggplant and fresh ricotta.

Pizza Sicilia and pizza upskirt action

The fried eggplant delivers on its promise: deep-fried cubes that are wondrously sticky and sweet. Only a light layer of topping keeps the pizza slices quite floppy, but the beauty is all in the crust. Throughout our dinner I'd been transfixed by the pizza oven, a roar of flames crackling over wood as pizza after pizza was slid in on a paddle.

We paused to admire the pizza maker on our way out, using his fingers to push out the dough into perfect circles before tossing it in the air.

Dessert? I say to Miss Veg, and as we trip down the street I mention how long it's been since I've had a dosai at Maya Masala.

Maya Masala, Surry Hills

Masala dosai $9.90

I. Am. A. Terrible. Influence.

We walk the few blocks to Maya Masala and even as we look at the trays of silver-foiled burfi, the bright orange carrot halva and syrup-soaked gulab jamun, all we can think about is dosai.

We're already laughing at our gluttony, and although it takes about 20 minutes for our dosai to arrive, it's worth the wait. The folded crepe is ridiculously crispy, audibly crunchy from each end to its centre.

Potato masala dosai has always been my favourite, the texture and flavour of the spiced potato working so well against the sour tang of the crepe. The dollop of potato has a surprise bonus - pan-fried again so the edges are crispy.

We leave nothing but crumbs on the plate, although I was tempted to finish those too.

SYDNEY FOOD BLOGGER IN MASTERCHEF AUSTRALIA

Did you spot Sydney's favourite food blogger in the trailers for the new season of MasterChef Australia? I cannot wait to tune in and barrack for Billy from A Table for Two - he's a talented cook, photographer, karaoke singer and dear friend.

23 Comments:

I haven't seen the MasterChef teaser yet but was wondering whether Billy was going to make it this year since he's tried out the last two seasons; ecstatic to see he has! :-) I'm sure we'll all be barracking for one of our own, but seeing your mention of him being a talented singer, shouldn't he apply for The X Factor as well? LOL

Thank you so much for the tickets to Efendy.. now i have to skip out of netball! Woops!!! Food over Exercise not even a challenge! Exciting for billy, can't wait to see the new season. And yes nothing better than a good base on a pizza out of a real roaring pizza oven!

I so KNEW, when I asked you about Billy in Sydney, that you were being evasive. KNEW IT! (That's why I didn't push, actually, because I could tell you weren't telling me for a reason). I've been keeping an eye out for him in the ads ever since. WOOOOOOT!

I've been waiting patiently for any excuse to visit 121 bc, I should make one up quick smart!The olives ascolana from birra are my absolute favorite - I could honestly eat a bucketful with no complaints!